Netflix wants more British originals

Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, has declared that more British commissions are on the way for the streaming giant following the success of the UK shows it has already licensed.

Speaking at the RTS London Conference, Sarandos said: “We are in co-production agreements right now with ITV, with Channel 4, and with the BBC on several projects. We’ll announce at least four more before the end of the year of these co-productions where the British broadcaster will take the first window and we’ll follow but we will launch it on Netflix around the world. What we find is that we have had such success with British programming in the US and around the world, with Happy Valley, Peaky Blinders,River [is] that it’s a natural extension of that for us to commission original British programming.”

British productions in the immediate pipeline include a third season of Black Mirror, the Charlie Brooker scripted drama that Netflix picked up from Channel 4, which will launch in October. Meanwhile, Lovesick, a rebranded second season of the cancelled Channel 4 sitcom Scrotal Recall is due to roll out in November.

Looking ahead, a 4K natural history series from the creators of the BBC hit Planet Earth is due to arrive on netflix in 2018.